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Colorado Performing Arts and Headshot Photographer

Headshot Photographer

As a Denver dance photographer, I have the awesome opportunity to photograph the youth company at Park Hill Dance Academy. But, I swear, these girls must totally hate me! The first time I photographed them, it was pretty chilly and they had to wear their leotards and tights outside. The second time I worked with them was at sunrise, in February. And this time, it was cold and rainy the whole time! At least, this time, they got to wear a long sleeve shirt over their leos, if they wanted to!

We did headshots of a few of dancers from the adult company, including the studio owner, Karlyn. Then we did portraits of each girl in the youth company and a few group photos as well. We did one group of all the dancers together, in their dance attire and one, just for fun of everyone in street clothes with their umbrellas! I had everyone dance in the rain and jump around for the last shots! Those were some of my favorite photos from the session!

I love photographing in City Park. It’s a great location, with lots to offer but in typical city kid fashion, I always gravitate toward the architecture of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science rather than the pretty trees and flowers. Behind the museum is a really nice area, that is great for headshots. There was even a dry spot, under a tree, for the girls to sit! (I always bring towels to my headshot sessions so no one has to sit in rain or snow.) The steps were the perfect spot for us to do the group photos. And in a rainy day like this, it was really nice to have some overhang areas to hang out and stash our stuff, plus people could run into the museum lobby to warm up. These girls are total troopers. They are dancers, after all!

Each year, I recap my work and collect all of my favorite images from my favorite sessions throughout the year. My business, my work, my clients all continue to inspire me and move me forward. For that, I am so grateful!

This year came with some pretty exciting things in my personal life. In March, my family went on a huge trip to Africa to explore Cape Town and go on safari in Botswana and Zambia. It has been my mom’s dream to take us on a safari for years! It was such an incredible trip and I have so, so many photos. I haven’t even edited them all yet!

I launched a new dance photography project this year and started photographing for another that has been in the works for a while now. In March, I announced my new project, Dance Warriors! I am so excited about this project and I’m so proud of everyone who has been involved. It’s an artistic response to political and social issues, in collaboration with dancers across the country.

I also started photographing dancers for the Day in the Body of a Dancer, which I am working on with Presenting Denver. For this project, I will be documenting ten dancers through their, professional and personal lives. The images, along with interviews by Celeste Davis Stragand, will eventually be put together in a book.

Speaking of Presenting Denver, we had our first Presenting Denver Dance Festival and it was so far beyond my expectations! The rehearsal day happened to be on my birthday, so I got to spend it doing what I love, photographing dance! I can’t wait until the next one, in 2020!

At the beginning of 2018, Morgan and I moved into a new apartment, and I know have an office! No more working in the living room and trying to confine all my stuff into 5 square feet! I also have an amazing space for indoor headshots that I’ve used a lot throughout the year. It’s a great option for those looking for a professional office feel in their images or clients who are wanting to stay warm for winter sessions.

In 2019, I’ve got some pretty exciting things going on! I’ll be doing my speaking engagements this year! Make sure you’re on my email list if you want to learn How To Love Yourself in Photos! Next year, I’ll be traveling to Chicago, New York State, Washington DC, and hopefully San Francisco and Las Angeles. I’m also going to be starting a new blog series of Denver mac and cheese reviews. So, if you’re as crazy about cheese and pasta as I am, or at least half as crazy, then keep an eye out for those! Wishing you a joyful year ahead!

As a Denver headshot photographer, my job is to put my client’s personalities into a still image. I work to draw out a person’s essence and capture it so that other’s can see them, the real them, their whole selves, in an instant. Once they see that, they are able to connect with and empathize with the person in front of them. This is what a good headshot does.

I try to stay politically active and informed, and I have even donated my services to political campaigns I felt especially passionate about, but I had never taken a politician’s headshots before. The word politician has such a negative connotation. I might be an optimist, but I truly believe that the problems of our government can be solved. This is really the job that politicians have, which makes them an incredibly important part of our society. There may be some bad ones but in essence, all politicians are people trying to help others. My job with this session was to show that.

Sam is one of those people who just overflows with kindness, gratitude, and humor. I had photographed his son Bennett’s actor headshots and senior session earlier in the year. In the winter, Sam came to me for headshots. He had decided to run for office and needed professional portraits to use in his campaign for Boulder County Assessor. Sam mentioned that the public’s perception of this position is especially negative and he wanted me to make him look likable, approachable, and nice. It wasn’t hard to do that at all since he truly is all of those things!

Since is was cold outside, we decided to have the session at my indoor location in downtown Denver. This gave us a great home base to chat and look over outfits. We did the first half of the session inside the natural light space and the second half outside at a local park. We even met the tiniest, most adorable dog on the way!

Looking for a relaxed, fun headshot experience, with a lot of character?

Frances is a dance student at Park Hill Dance Academy, where I photograph portraits and performances throughout the season. When she entered her senior in high school, she needed a Denver senior photographer and remembered me from the headshots I took at Park Hill. Since Frances is a dancer, we made sure to take a couple of dance photos with her point shoes during her senior session. The glass greenhouse was the perfect spot for it. It was so fun getting to know Frances a bit and learn more about her. She is really interested in technical theater and library sciences!

She knew she wanted a nature setting with lots of flowers for her session, so we decided on the Denver Botanic Gardens. I was a little worried that we might miss all the flowers since our session was in October but there was still so much color and beauty at the gardens in autumn. Plus, we got a few photos with some gorgeous fall foliage, which was such a treat in the middle of the city.

Frances is a huge fan of the 1987 movie Wings of Desire and got her own amazing set of angel wings. It was so much fun incorporating them into her session throughout the gardens. She also wanted to recreate the iconic poster image from the movie, which we did at the end of the session, in Cheesman Park. I have to say, Frances had the most creative outfits and they showed off her personality so well. She found a lot of the pieces in thrift shops and vintage clothing stores. Isn’t that amazing!?

Isn’t that red, leather jacket incredible? And with the yellow, aspen leaves, it was just perfect.

Looking for a relaxed, fun senior portrait experience, with a lot of character? Contact me at jamie@jamiekraus.com.

Every one of my personal branding clients gets a series of emails from me. One of the first ones they get after booking me for Denver branding headshots is an email with a list of suggested hair and makeup artists. I always recommend that my portrait clients hire a makeup artist. Even if you don’t normally wear makeup, a professional can really help perfect your look in photos.

The first makeup artist on that list is Oksana. She is multi-talented and has a lot of experience with makeup for the camera as well as brand styling. When Lisa booked Oksana for her session, she not only her for hair and makeup, she also booked her for wardrobe styling. They worked together before Lisa’s personal branding session to shop for the best outfits that would flatter her and showcase her branding.

Just before our session together, Oskana went to Lisa’s house to do her hair and makeup. They also worked together to narrow down the outfits for our session and pair everything up perfectly, from sweaters and scarves to the jewelry. At the beginning of every session, I always look through outfits with my clients and figure out what would look best on them and on camera. I’ve learned a few tips and tricks along the way as to what clothing works best, what flatters different body types, and how to showcase a brand through clothing. That said, it is so, so awesome to have someone who is actually an expert in this work with you from shopping to styling.

Business Coach Lisa | Denver Branding Headshots

Lisa and I had an amazing session at her friend’s cabin. Since this was an at home session in the mountains, we had to get some cozy cabin portraits. Outside, we caught some of the first fall leaves and even a bit of snow. It was pretty cold but Lisa powered through it and it was totally worth it! I mean just look at how beautiful these are!

Looking for a relaxed, fun headshot experience, with a lot of character? Contact me at jamie@jamiekraus.com.

Photographing Bennett last year was such a treat! I love creating portraits and senior sessions are always so much fun. Bennett’s aunts were looking to give him a Denver senior photography session as a gift for his graduation. They decided to hire me because of my experience working with actors and performing artists. This session served as a senior session, celebrating his graduation, and an actor headshot session, for an audition portfolio.

In his senior year of high school, Bennett started acting and singing in his school’s theater productions. By the end of the year, he was auditioning for local theater companies outside of school. That meant he needed audition headshots! Bennett is now in college at CU Boulder pursuing degrees in math and theater. Isn’t that awesome!? My degree is in scientific photography so I’m all about the crossover between the arts and sciences. I know Bennett will be up to some incredible things in the next few years, so keep an eye out for him!

We did this session at Waneka Lake in Lafayette, where we did Janet’s personal branding session, earlier in the year. Coming from a city on the Great Lakes, Colorado doesn’t have a whole lot of waterfront spots. That’s why I love shooting at Waneka Lake! It really feels like I’m back in the midwest again and it’s a gorgeous spot for all kinds of photos.

A few months after we did this session, I got the chance to photograph Bennett’s dad, Sam, for his political campaign. I am always so honored to get referrals from past clients and it was wonderful to work with this awesome family a second time. I’ll be sharing Sam’s headshots this winter!

Looking for a relaxed, fun headshot or senior experience, with a lot of character? Contact me at jamie@jamiekraus.com.

I have been an ambassador for Presenting Denver since I moved to Colorado almost four years ago. I serve as a Dance Events Committee Member as well as an Ambassador Photographer. One of my roles as Ambassador Photographer is to take Denver headshots of other ambassadors for the Presenting Denver website.

Presenting Denver Ambassadors | Denver Headshots

Presenting Denver is a wonderful, local non-profit that brings dancers and patrons together to support and uplift the dance community. This organization has been growing and changing a lot recently. They hosted their first dance festival this summer and are preparing for more big events in the coming years. Presenting Denver is a volunteer-driven organization, with an amazing team of ambassadors and board members donating their time and skills to keep this organization going. New ambassadors are joining all the time to help with marketing, event planning, writing, and more.

Last year, we organized a few days dedicated to headshots so we could take portraits of everyone who helps make Presenting Denver a success. We did these portraits at Presenting Denver’s headquarters, some outside and some indoor, depending on the weather. Since then, I’ve been taking Denver headshots for new ambassadors as they join the Presenting Denver Community. I’ve been able to do take these portraits in my own photography space so that there is still a consistency between all the images. This also makes it very convenient to keep the website up to date as new people join throughout the year.

I couldn’t forget about King, Presenting Denver’s ambassador cat! King attends every meeting and is very passionate about the organization’s mission to support the art of dance through increased public exposure and the appreciation of movement as an innovative art form. He is very good at taking notes on other people’s laptops, raising morale by demanding pats and keeping an eye on everyone by walking around the table.

Looking for a relaxed, fun headshot experience, with a lot of character? Contact me at jamie@jamiekraus.com.